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I'm looking to move and I've pretty much narrowed down my choices to one of the above four cities. I think they all have some or most of my criteria, and would probably be happy in any of them. I wanted to get other's views based on my list below:
I'm looking to move and I've pretty much narrowed down my choices to one of the above four cities. I think they all have some or most of my criteria, and would probably be happy in any of them. I wanted to get other's views based on my list below:
Vibe / Culture / Liveliness (hard to rank but looking for something fun and lively):
Amount of things to do (any kind of attractions, or shopping, entertainment, etc.):
Climate (Austin is brutal in the summer, and Chicago the winter) most mild?:
Professional sports:
Traffic:
COL: Charlotte and Austin
Transplants: Charlotte, followed by Austin, then Chicago
Public Transit: Chicago by far
Nightlife: Chicago by far, followed by Austin
Job Market: Charlotte, Austin for good mix of jobs. Chicago for high paying jobs but not low paying jobs
Outdoor activities: Tie across the board in different ways
Vibe: IMO Chicago, Austin, and Pittsburgh have the best vibes
Climate: I'd go with Pittsburgh or Charlotte
Pro Sports: Chicago by far, then Pittsburgh. Charlotte has NBA and could possibly see an MLB team in the future. Austin has nothing and probably won't have something for a while.
Amount of transplants / younger demographic: Charlotte/Austin
Best public transit: Chicago
Nightlife (bars, restaurants, shows, etc.): Chicago
Job market / outlook: Austin/Charlotte
Outdoor activities (parks, hiking, lakes, running trails, swimming, etc.): All have these activities, but you will be able to enjoy outdoor activities for a longer duration throughout the year in Charlotte and Austin due to their warmer year round climates.
Vibe / Culture / Liveliness (hard to rank but looking for something fun and lively): "Fun/Lively" can be subjective. But if you're young and single, my guess would be Austin and Chicago.
Amount of things to do (any kind of attractions, or shopping, entertainment, etc.): Chicago
Climate (Austin is brutal in the summer, and Chicago the winter) most mild?: Charlotte
Professional sports: Chicago, but far. They have all of the big 4 major league sports represented (NFL/NBA/2 MLB/NHL). Pittsburgh has NFL/MLB/NHL. Charlotte has NFL/NBA and, as one poster said, I could see Charlotte getting an MLB team in the future. Austin has no major league teams
Amount of transplants / younger demographic: Charlotte/Austin
Best public transit: Chicago
Nightlife (bars, restaurants, shows, etc.): Chicago
Job market / outlook: Austin/Charlotte
Outdoor activities (parks, hiking, lakes, running trails, swimming, etc.): All have these activities, but you will be able to enjoy outdoor activities for a longer duration throughout the year in Charlotte and Austin due to their warmer year round climates.
Vibe / Culture / Liveliness (hard to rank but looking for something fun and lively): "Fun/Lively" can be subjective. But if you're young and single, my guess would be Austin and Chicago.
Amount of things to do (any kind of attractions, or shopping, entertainment, etc.): Chicago
Climate (Austin is brutal in the summer, and Chicago the winter) most mild?: Charlotte
Professional sports: Chicago, but far. They have all of the big 4 major league sports represented (NFL/NBA/2 MLB/NHL). Pittsburgh has NFL/MLB/NHL. Charlotte has NFL/NBA and, as one poster said, I could see Charlotte getting an MLB team in the future. Austin has no major league teams
Traffic: Charlotte/Pittsburgh
I agree with this, except I would place Charlotte for traffic.
COL: Charlotte or Pittsburgh
Transplants: Austin>Charlotte>Chicago
Public Transit: Chicago>>>Pittsburgh
Nightlife: Chicago is the best; Austin would be second on paper, although Pittsburgh's nightlife is quite underrated. Charlotte is clearly in last place.
Job market: All are at least decent; Austin or Charlotte are a bit better than the other two.
Outdoor activities: Austin and Charlotte roughly tied (more right in Austin, but more within an hour or two of CLT)
Liveliness: Charlotte is the worst. Others are pretty close overall, but vary in specific feel.
Things to do: Chicago
Climate: Probably Charlotte
Pro sports: Chicago easily wins (NFL, 2x MLB, NHL, NBA), with Pittsburgh in second (has NFL, MLB, and NHL, and fans are very loyal). Charlotte has NFL and NBA. Austin has no major pro teams. You'd largely be watching Texas football, and probably Dallas teams.
Traffic: Charlotte
COL: Charlotte or Pittsburgh
Transplants: Austin>Charlotte>Chicago
Public Transit: Chicago>>>Pittsburgh
Nightlife: Chicago is the best; Austin would be second on paper, although Pittsburgh's nightlife is quite underrated. Charlotte is clearly in last place.
Job market: All are at least decent; Austin or Charlotte are a bit better than the other two.
Outdoor activities: Austin and Charlotte roughly tied (more right in Austin, but more within an hour or two of CLT)
Liveliness: Charlotte is the worst. Others are pretty close overall, but vary in specific feel.
Things to do: Chicago
Climate: Probably Charlotte
Pro sports: Chicago easily wins (NFL, 2x MLB, NHL, NBA), with Pittsburgh in second (has NFL, MLB, and NHL, and fans are very loyal). Charlotte has NFL and NBA. Austin has no major pro teams. You'd largely be watching Texas football, and probably Dallas teams.
Traffic: Charlotte
Uuuhm I wouldn't say Charlotte is in last place in nightlife or liveliness at all. You are clearly underestimating the city......As an African - American I definitely find more things to do in Charlotte versus Austin AND Pittsburgh. Even if I wasnt African-American Charlotte still is lively and has a nice nightlife...
Cost of living: Pittsburgh (91.5%) and Charlotte (95.6%). Both are below the national average
Amount of transplants / younger demographic: Austin, followed not far behind by Charlotte
Best public transit: Chicago, hands down.
Nightlife (bars, restaurants, shows, etc.): Chicago
Job market / outlook: Charlotte and Austin tie
Outdoor activities (parks, hiking, lakes, running trails, swimming, etc.): Charlotte (trust me on this one)
Vibe / Culture / Liveliness (hard to rank but looking for something fun and lively): Chicago
Amount of things to do (any kind of attractions, or shopping, entertainment, etc.): Chicago
Climate (Austin is brutal in the summer, and Chicago the winter) most mild?: Charlotte
Professional sports: Charlotte
Traffic: Pittsburgh
All 4 are good choices and have their merits. You made good picks. But for across-the-board livability, I'd go with Chicago or Charlotte. Good luck wherever you land.
I'm looking to move and I've pretty much narrowed down my choices to one of the above four cities. I think they all have some or most of my criteria, and would probably be happy in any of them. I wanted to get other's views based on my list below:
I'm looking to move and I've pretty much narrowed down my choices to one of the above four cities. I think they all have some or most of my criteria, and would probably be happy in any of them. I wanted to get other's views based on my list below:
Vibe / Culture / Liveliness (hard to rank but looking for something fun and lively):
Amount of things to do (any kind of attractions, or shopping, entertainment, etc.):
Climate (Austin is brutal in the summer, and Chicago the winter) most mild?:
Professional sports:
Traffic:
I've lived/spent a bit of time in all the cities (except Charlotte... I've been there for work a few times), but am by no means an expert, to take this for what it's worth.
IMO, it really all comes down to how you feel about winter, and by that I mean the grey days. Snow isn't that bad (I personally love it), but months of grey weather weighs on you. Pittsburgh is the worst in the this respect, but it also probably the most affordable of your options. It has really great housing stock, real dive bars and I like the historical feel. It is a bit insular, but hopefully that changes as the job market/low COL attracts more people. It feels like Pittsburgh has the most opportunity for growth and change of all the cities on your list. It's kind of mid-transition right now and it's hard to say how it is going to play out.
I've always loved Chicago. It's fantastic. If not for their taxes, terrible financial situation which is going to blow up one day, and totally flat terrain/lack of an outdoors scene, I'd move there in a heartbeat.
I've found Charlotte to be kind of soulless. There isn't really a neighborhoody feel in my experience, but it seems like the job market is really good.
Austin has never really done it for me either, for some reason. People love it, but I am kind of meh. It's fun to visit but never struck me as a place I really wanted to live. But, again, good job market and tons of California money/refugees pouring in which should keep prices moving higher and higher.
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